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Friendly countries at UN announce new aid for flood-affected Pakistanis
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (APP): Despite the fact that Sunday’s high level meeting on Pakistan’s flood crisis was not meant to be a pledging conference, several countries announced new aid for the millions of people displaced by the deadly natural disaster. The meeting, which brought together top diplomats from 25 countries and heads of international financial institutions, was intended to signal the international community’s solidarity with flood-battered Pakistan.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi co-chaired the meeting Sunday evening ahead of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session.
It comes on the heels of Friday’s largest U.N. humanitarian appeal ever, seeking more than $2 billion for the next 12 months to assist flood victims.
Those funds are designated for nearly 500 projects covering essential sectors such as housing, food, water, sanitation, hygiene and agriculture. But the overall figure of new pledges was not immediately available.
BRITAIN’S PLEDGE The most notable announcement on Sunday came from Britain’s International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell who said his government would provide a further $110 million immediately towards the relief effort.
London has previously given Islamabad $100 million and $80 million in private donations. Mitchell said that funding would be directed toward three areas - rebuilding the agriculture sector and schools, and assisting southern Pakistan, where flood waters have yet to recede and fears of a health emergency continue.’
The meeting mainly provided an opportunity for countries to reiterate their current commitments to Pakistan, with assurances that they would stand behind the resilient people o Pakistan in these critical times.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States has provided about $345 million in governmental assistance to Pakistan. “This money has gone to relief and early recovery, along with in-kind contributions and the very important rescue work that our military has done in rescuing 15,000 people and providing [more than 3.1 million kilograms] of relief supplies,” she said.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said his country also has contributed $345 million in aid. The European Union has pledged $315 million, and its High Representative Catherine Ashton called for additional short-, medium- and long-term packages covering humanitarian and development assistance as well as ambitious trade measures to give boost to Pakistan’s economy.
Iran said it had immediately responded to to the emergency in “brotherly” Pakistan and had now set aside 100 million dollars. Norway and Spain said they have boosted their respsctive contributions to $$66 million and $20 million, respectively.
China, which spoke of special relationship with Pakistan, said it has contributed $320 million plus a host of relief services it is providing in flood-affected areas costing a lot of money. Germany said it had contributed 460 million while Australia said it is increasing its aid to $75 million.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told participants that this is one of the most complex natural disasters the United Nations has ever faced. “The flooding has affected an estimated 20 million people and 20 percent of Pakistan’s land.
Eight to 12 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance,” he said. FM Qureshi thanks the nationas of the world for their generous support to Pakistan, stressing that Pakistan would use its own resources to better the lives of flood victims.
“I want to assure the international community that every dollar being contributed will be well spent in a transparent manner and we have today in place an oversight mechanism, which is comprising of people with a lot of eminence and integrity,” Qureshi said.
“We the people of Pakistan intend to mobilize our national resources to overcome this challenge,” he added. “We cannot expect the world to foot the entire bill, we don’t expect that.” Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Secretary-General said the gathering was intended to show the international community’s solidarity with the people of Pakistan.
“We are here to send a clear message that they are not alone”, he emphasized, adding that “this will take much effort by all of us in the months and years to come.”
Courtesy www.app.com.pk